The heads of the local government units (LGUs) committed themselves today to work with the national government and the private sector towards improving the business environment for investors in their respective areas in a move to make the Philippines more globally competitive.

The League of Provinces of the Philippines, League of Municipalities of the Philippines, League of Cities of the Philippines and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, expressed their full support to global competitiveness in the “Commitment to Action to Pursue Competitiveness,” the output of the two-day LGU Conference for Sustained Philippine Competitiveness.

The action plan was presented to the President by the LGUs this afternoon at the Rizal Hall in Malacanang.

“We continue to do our best to make the Philippines a more competitive country by synchronizing our policies and coordinating with the business sector,” Mandaluyong City Mayor Benjamin Abalos, who is president of the League of Cities, and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, said.

Abalos urged the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), the private sector and the LGUs to meet ‘‘in two to three months from now and see where we are and what we have achieved.”

Misamis Occidental Gov. Loreto Leo Ocampos, while pledging the municipalities’ support to the competitiveness goal, said “we will stop talking about political issues and instead discuss market share and financial issues from this time on. We will be competing among ourselves as we put competitiveness in our radar screen.”

They also committed themselves to integrate their comprehensive local development plan and use their resources for programs and projects to enhance the quality of the business environment in their areas of responsibility so as to encourage and support new and current investments both domestic and foreign.

The LGUs also committed to support the national government’s initiatives intended to enhance the country’s competitiveness, particularly in those areas within their areas of influence such as promoting competitive human resources, upgrading of infrastructure, including reducing power rates and ensuring quality of service, lowering cost of doing business, ensuring availability of financing for projects and programs and ensuring good governance.

The local government executives also vowed to pursue an action plan in the areas of agribusiness, mining, tourism, and offshoring and outsourcing, the sectors the NCC identified as where the Philippines can be more globally competitive.

They also agreed to partner with the private sector in the planning and implementation of projects and programs that will promote and support competitiveness as well as participate in capacity building programs that will enhance competitiveness.

The conference was organized to tap the support of the LGUs as they play a crucial role in providing an environment that promotes investments, productivity and competitiveness, the factors that are important in achieving globalization. - www.gov.ph